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Politics Paper 1 > Democracy And Participation > Flashcards

Democracy And Participation Flashcards

1
Q

What is representative democracy?

A
  • people vote for elected representatives; in local/general elections; makes decisions on people’s behalf
  • can either be party or person
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2
Q

What is direct democracy?

A
  • people’s views relayed directly from them
  • all decisions reflect majority view; binary
  • multiple access points for direct action/influence
  • lack of political pluralism
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3
Q

Definition of democracy?

A
  • power in hands of all/system of gov that allows all citizens to participate/influence gov decisions
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4
Q

key features of democracy - elections

A
  • fair, free, secrets elections w/equal say
  • turnout varies according to age group.
  • GEs in UK; free/fair, but FPTP makes it difficult to achieve majority, so many votes wasted.
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5
Q

Ad/dis of direct democracy

A

Ad:
- purest from
- encourages participation
- encourages genuine debate
- can avoid deadlock/delay
- great legitimacy
- removed need for trusted representatives
- equal weight to all votes
Dis:
- can lead to tyranny of the majority
- some issues too complex for ordinary citizens
- open to manipulation
- many don’t want to take part is decision making

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6
Q

Ad/dis of representative democracy

A

Ad:
- practical where issues complex
- reduces tyranny of majority
- politicians from parties; coherence/choice
- pressure groups form/encourage pluralist democracy
- representative hold to account during elections
- expert knowledge/experience in representatives
Dis:
- minorities lack representation
- politicians skilful in avoiding accountability
- decreased participation
- parties/pressure groups run by ppl perusing own agenda
- politicians sometimes corrupt/incompetent
- FPTP produces highly unrepresentative result

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7
Q

What is suffrage?

A
  • the right to vote
  • universal suffrage = democracy
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8
Q

What is the Great Reform Act 1832?

A
  • passed by Whig gov of Lord Grey
  • 1/5 males could vote; 5.6% of population
  • abolished rotten boroughs such as Old Sarum; constituencies that had almost no voters, but elected two MPs every election
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9
Q

What is the Second Reform Act 1867?

A
  • bigger in scope
  • passed by Tory gov of Disraeli
  • allowed many working class men in cities to vote; 1/3 of men
  • retained difference between cities/countryside
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10
Q

What is the Third Reform Act 1884?

A
  • passed by Gladstone’s Lib gov
  • est. uniform franchise for men
  • all working men who met property qualification
  • 40% of men still excluded
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11
Q

What is the Representation of the People Act 1918?

A
  • product of WWI; Lloyd-George coalition gov
  • all men over 21 (19 for veterans)
  • women over 30 who met property qualification
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12
Q

What is the Representation of the People Act 1928?

A
  • Baldwin’s Tory gov
  • women receive vote on equal terms to men
  • all over 21
  • property qualifications removed
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13
Q

What is the Representation of the People Act 1969?

A
  • Wilson
  • lowered voting age to 18
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14
Q

Who were the Chartists/what were their aims?

A
  • demanded adoption by parliament of the People’s Charter
  • all men to have vote irrespective of wealth/property
  • secret ballot
  • parliamentary elections every year
  • equally sized constituencies
  • MPs to be paid
  • property qualification abolished
  • key leaders - William Lovett, Francis Place, Feargus O’Connor; used petitions (big in 1839, 1842, 1848)
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15
Q

Who were the suffragists?

A
  • National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies; 1897; Millicent Fawcett
  • peaceful/constitutional methods including meetings, leaflets, petitions, marches, lobbying
  • 100,000 members by 1914
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16
Q

Who were the suffragettes?

A
  • Women’s Social and Political Union; 1903; Emmeline Pankhurst
  • more militant/prepared to break the law; chained themselves to railings, hackling/disrupting public meetings, criminal damage/arson
  • went on hunger strike when imprisoned; gov passed the Cat and Mouse Act to enable force-feeding.
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17
Q

Arguments used to demand votes for women

A
  • women are intellectually equal
  • women paid equivalent taxes/obeyed same laws
  • woman could already vote in local elections/serve as mayors
  • roles as wives/mothers made vital contribution
  • franchise had already been reformed to include 2/3s of men
  • women could bring additional experience
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18
Q

Arguments deployed against women

A
  • men naturally better suited to some areas
  • women too emotional
  • politics would distract from roles as wives/mothers
  • women not able to serve in war
  • drastic actions of suffragettes proved unsuitability
  • women would outnumber men among electorate
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19
Q

Should prisoners have the right to vote?

A

YES:
- civic responsibility; makes rehabilitation harder
- fundamental right
- no evidence that taking away vote acts as effective deterrent
- alienates them
- ECtHR ruled against blanket ban
NO:
- rights come with responsibilities
- prisoners concentrated in certain areas; not necessarily permanent members of community
- public opinion against it
- undermine parliamentary sovereignty
- ECtHR ruling/interpretation goes beyond original framework; example of judicial overreach

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20
Q

key features of democracy - representation

A
  • those elected must act in best interest of citizens in area/rep views effectively
  • most elected reps belong to political party/rep their party’s views.
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21
Q

key features of democracy - legitimacy

A
  • govs/legislatures have legal authority as have been fairly chosen in elections.
  • fptp distorts party representation at Westminster; no recent UK gov has won supper of over 50% of those who voted.
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22
Q

key features of democracy - participation

A
  • ppl can get involved/contribute to politics and policy-making in no. of ways.
  • wide range of participation opportunities; some require more commitment than others.
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23
Q

key features of democracy - accountability

A
  • those elected are held accountable for actions; should be transparent, open, free from corruption.
  • frequent complaints about how gov/public bodies try to cover up mistakes;
    allegations of partisan favouritism in many areas of gov
  • R. Miller vs Secretary of State for Exiting the EU; British business owner challenged gov over ruling to implement Brexit without allowing Parliament’s approval to do so.
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24
Q

key features of democracy - rule of law

A
  • laws apply equally to everyone including gov/elected officials; anyone who breaks law is punished.
  • many argue that they sometimes see themselves as above/exempt from laws everyone else has to follow.
25
Q

key features of democracy - smooth transition of power

A
  • there is formal process for hand power from one gov to next; takes place peacefully without violent or mass protests.
  • calm in general in UK; prolonged hiatus/debate over Brexit deal views by many Leave supporters as attempt to thwart will of the people
26
Q

key features of democracy - civil rights

A
  • right of the people protected/defended through the courts.
  • UK lacks embedded set of civil rights/relies largely on parliamentary statues that could be repealed.
  • access to justice can be prohibitively expensive.
  • Human Rights Act; rights defended in UK courts; public organisations must treat everyone equally.
27
Q

kay features of democracy - education/information

A
  • public well education politically/have access to accurate info from trustworthy sources; enables effective/informed participation in political process.
  • many sources of news/info biased; election campaigns rely on highly simplified messages that at worst can be very misleading.
28
Q

How are e-petitions used?

A
  • originally statues in 2006/relaunched in 2011; end and members of public to identify/raise issues with gov; more than 10,000 signatures - receives response from gov; 100,000 - considered for debate.
  • 2019 - 6m signatures to revoke Article 50/remain in EU.
  • 2019 - 1.7m in opposition to planned prorogation of parliament in midst of debates/stalemate.
  • 2017 - 1.86m to stop Trump from making state visit to UK.
29
Q

should there be greater use of direct democracy in UK? - YES

A

YES:
- enhances legitimacy; decisions have direct authority/mandate of people; when ppl vote, they may not necessarily agree with all policies in party manifesto.
- it works; popular with voters/engages them; turnout of 2014 Scottish Independence referendum = 84.6%; works in other countries such as switzerland.
- improves accountability; wishes of ppl cannot be ignored; can sometimes provide useful corrective when MP’s views out of step with country, such as Brexit.

30
Q

what was the main tactic of the Chartists?

A
  • compilation/submission of three monster petitions in 1839, 1842, 1848; up to 6m signatures, though some of dubious authenticity eg Queen Victoria more than once.
  • each occasion - overwhelmingly rejected by parliament.
  • movement collapsed after 1848 failure; over time - all but one aim achieved/influenced creation of other political movements such as the Reform League.
31
Q

how successful were the suffragettes and suffragists?

A
  • witnessed success quicker than Chartists; women given vote in 1918/remainder in 1928.
  • contribution of women during war especially as munitions workers played part in their success; need to settle aspects of male suffrage by war’s end.
  • took far longer for women to be elected in any large numbers; first was Nancy Astor in 1919, but not until after 1997 that large numbers began to get elected; Thatcher = first female PM in 1979.
32
Q

should 16-17 year olds be given the vote?

A

YES:
- allowed to vote in Scottish Independence referendum.
- can vote in the Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernesey, Brazil, Austria.
- 16 = age you can legally marry, have sex, enter armed forces.
- around 1.5m; evidence from S.R suggested they may be expected to have large turnout.
- no. of organisations pressing case including Electoral Reform Society.
NO:
- some people argue that 18 year olds shouldn’t even be able to vote.
- need life experience; should pay taxes/think independently -> personal maturity.

33
Q

traditional forms of participation

A

traditional forms:
- voting in range of elections eg national, local, regional, referendums.
- membership of political party
- standing as candidate in elections.
- joining pressure group
- writing letters to MPs/councillors
- going on march/strike

34
Q

modern methods of participation

A
  • e-petitions
  • following, retweeting, liking political posts on social media.
  • organising/participating in protests such as those associated with BLM via social media.
  • boycotting certain goods/businesses.
35
Q

political participation crisis in the UK? - what does evidence cited tend to focus on?

A
  • voter turnout in elections
  • membership of political parties
  • growing volatility among voters
36
Q

what is the current/general trend of participation through voting?

A
  • overall, turnout in GEs lower than historically; 1945-1992 - usually 75%; 2019 - fell to 67.3%.
37
Q

what was the turnout of the 2019 European elections?

A
  • 37% (34% in 2014)
38
Q

what was the turnout of the 2018 local elections for unitary councils?

A
  • 33% (37% in 2017)
39
Q

what was the turnout of the 2016 police and crime commissioner elections?

A
  • 27% (15% in 2012)
40
Q

what was the turnout of the 2016 Scottish Parliament elections?

A
  • 56% (50% in 2011)
41
Q

what was the turnout of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum?

A

85%

42
Q

what was the turnout of the 2011 AV referendum?

A

42%

43
Q

What do the turnout figures suggest?

A
  • turnout = poor; don’t necessarily prove turnout falling consistently
  • significant variation according to age; older = more likely to vote; turnout in 2019 ranged from 47% among 18-24 up to 74% among over 65s.
    —> wider gap than 2017; 54% and 71%.
44
Q

what is the general picture of participation through party membership?

A
  • falling membership
45
Q

What was the membership of the Labour Party in 2019?

A

485,000

46
Q

What was the membership of the Conservative Party in 2019?

A

180,000

47
Q

What was the membership of the SNP in 2019?

A

126,000

48
Q

What was the membership of the Liberal Democrats in 2019?

A

115,000

49
Q

What was the membership of the Green Party (England/Wales) in 2019?

A

48,500

50
Q

What was the membership of UKIP in 2019?

A

29,000

51
Q

What was the membership of Plaid Cymru in 2019?

A

10,000

52
Q

What do the membership figures show?

A
  • combined membership of Tories, Lab, Lib Dems = 1.7% of electorate.
  • compare favourably to historic low of 0.8% in 2013.
  • Labour enjoyed surge in years of Cornyn leadership.
  • figures lower than earlier decades; 1950s - Conservatives = 2.8m, Labour = 1m + several million through affiliated TUs
53
Q

overall assessment of membership figures

A
  • clear decline of formal membership, but not of terminal; Labour grew considerably in years after 2014.
  • membership of SNP/Greens has grown in recent years.
  • churches/TUs have also seen sharp decline in membership since 1950s.
54
Q

how is membership of parties skewed by age and social class?

A
  • majority of party members belong to higher social classes (ABC1); 2019 figures suggest this ranged from 85% of Lib Dem members to 65% of UKIP members.
  • average age is above 50 for all main parties; more than half (53%) of current Tory members aged 60+; 18-24 make up 4-6% of overall Lab, Lib Dem, Tory memberships
55
Q

what is meant by electoral volatility?

A
  • far more likely to switch between parties, suggesting wider disillusionment with parties/politicians —> partisan dealignment
56
Q

why could partisan dealignment be seen as part of wider pattern of disenchantment with parties/politicians?

A
  • social class less reliable as indicator of voting behaviour; voters more prepared to shop around/vote according to policies and personalities as opposed to trad tribal loyalties.
  • new parties have gained in recent elections; UKIP/Brexit Party tipped last two European elections contested; Greens gained nearly 200 seats in 2019 local elections; independents gained in excess of 600 new councillors in same.
57
Q

Is there a participation crisis in the UK? - yes

A

Yes:
- turnout low in many recent elections.
- membership has declined in past half century.
- partisan dealignment = voters feeling no affiliation particular party.
- disillusionment increased since 2009 expenses scandal.
- political apathy particularly marked among 18-24; less likely to vote/join party than older.
- many modern political participation methods amount to slacktivism.

58
Q

Is there are participation crisis in the UK? - no

A
  • some parties (SNP/Greens) have seen growth in membership recently
  • election turnout not consistently low
  • shift away from traditional modes of participation
  • social movements/less structured campaign groups focus on direct action eg XR/BLM; can attract strong support/commitment, esp from younger voters
  • internet based movements can be powerful; #MeToo campaign against sexual harassment led to much public debate.
59
Q

additional aspects of democracy?

A
  • different beliefs, parties, associations tolerated; encourages political pluralism; Just Stop Oil - able to cause commotion without much fear, however recent controversy with sentence given to member.
  • media free/independent; freedom of expression/prevents propaganda; headlines about Prince Andrew being on Epstein list; able to be critical of key figures without fear of closure.
  • legal limited to powers of gov; ensures no branch can be more powerful; SC ruling that Rwanda bill breaches human rights; can check gov independently with no fear of being removed.

Politics Paper 1 (12 decks)

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